Bermuda grass cutter



Feb. 28, 1933.

v A. M. GRAY BERMUDA GRASS CUTTER Filed Dec'. 24, 1931 ii uzuve .s'.

" the soil.

V Patented @Feb. 28,. .1 3

V T I --AncnIE'n.oRAY, or common, CALIFORNIA ,nnnnunnomss cu'rrrze Application 'ni ii n mte; 224, 1931.. Serial No. 583,022.

, This invention relatesto garden-tools, -and more especiallyto a weed cutter of improved form.

weed cutting tool, which, while being adapted for use in I is particularlyadapted for-killing Bermuda grass.

r 1 Another object'ofthe invention the pro-- vision of aBermuda grass cutter whichis adapted to operate efficiently in killingBermuda grass, without harming othertypes of grass immediately adjacent, the grass ,7 which is to be killed. A more detailed object is to provide a Bermudagrass cutter theform of a rake having a plurality of tines adapted to ride upon curved edges'instead of upon points,"-therey lift the runnersof Bermuda grass and simie lar weeds, and carry them into contact with a'blade suitably 'positioned to out the runners without harming othe'r types of grass 5 immediately adjacent the Bermuda grass" which is to be killed. p

The invention possesses other objects and advantageous features, some of those-enumerated, will be set'forth' in the following description. of

the drawing accompanying and forming a part of the specification. Referring to the, drawing: j Fig.1 is a perspective view of a Bermuda grass cutter embodyingthe principles oft-he 3 present invention, a portion of the handle bein broken away to, reduce'the-length of] the. gure.

Fig. 2 is a 'taken substantially upon the line -2 of Fig.1, with thedirectioniof view as 'indi- 'cated. t v r .Fig. 3 is a compound sectional view taken substantially upon the line 3-3' of Fig 2,

with the direction of viewas ind cated, A portion of the figure is broken-away to reduce its length. i

Fig. 4 1s a perspective view-. ofjltheblade. which forms aportion ofthe-tool oftheypres An object of the invention: is to provide a.

killing a wide variety of :weeds',

preventing the tines from digging into These curved tinesv are adapted to ably which, with r the inventions par ticular embodiment which'is illustrated in transverse vertical sectional-view of the bar, as by a-plurality of screws 27, presses against the blade 23 to retain'the blade ent invention; A portion of the figure broken away to reduce its length.

preferred embodiment of my improved I Bermuda grass cutter is illustrated in the drawing, and comprises a head 6 provided with asuitable tang 7 rigid therewith, whereby "anoperating handle 8 may be rigidly. con- *vers ely with respect to the handle 8, and a plurality of tines 11 extending downwards from the lower edge 12] of the transverse bar 9.

The particular configuration of the'tines V lli'isof importance. The after edge 1310ff each tine 11 as it' extends ,downwards from the lowerzedge '12 offthe bar 9, curves forwards-to intersect the forward edge 14 sub .stantially ina. point 16. The "curvature of.

the edges 13 of the tines 11 is. such that when: the tool is held in operative position, prefer with the handle =8 extending upwards from the bar 9 at substantially 309' from the nected to the head 6. The head 6 comprisesa hart), preferably of nietal,extendingtranshorizontahithe points 16 are elevatedslightlyaboventhe'surface upon which the'tool rest-s. Hence the tool makes contact with the ground when the tool is in use, only at the lowermost portions 17 of the The after edges/13 are of materialwidth, so that the portions. 17 thereof which make contact with the ground, are'flat, as best shown upon Fig. 3.

curved edges 13 of the tines; v

; Theforward edges 14 of the tines incline upwards from the points 16 toward the' bar 9, and each forwar'dedge. is sharpened, as in dicated at 18, and terminates at a shoulder 19 adjacent thelower edge". 12 of the bar 9 The shoulders-19 of 'all the tines 13 "arein 'alinement, and a preferably continuous shoul-' f I der- 21 .is provided' upon the forward face I 22 of the bar 9, parallel to the row of shoulders '19'and a suitable distance thereabove to ac.- .commodate a-blade23 therebetween.

The blade 23 is provided with a [cutting edge 24: disposed adjacent the intersection of the forward edges 14 of the tines 13 with the lower edge'12 of the bar 9. 1 A clamping plate 26 releasably securedto the forward face 22 thereof. Hence these curved surfaces act as in operative position between the shoulders 21 and the row of shoulders 19, as clearly illustrated upon Fig. 2.

Preferably the blade 23 corresponds in width to the conventional safety razor blade, so that a row of such blades may be employed, instead of a continuous single blade such. as that which is illustrated upon Fig. 4.

When the tool is in use, with the handle 8 extending upwards from the head 6 at substantially from the horizontal, thetool willengage the'ground with only the longitudinally curved and transversely flat por tions 17 ofthe tines resting uponthe surface runners, holding the points 16 of the tines elevated above the surface ofthe ground and preventing their penetrating the ground.

alined shoulders on their forward edges and said bar having a shoulder parallel to the shoulders of said tines, a blade disposed between said shoulders. a removable clamping plate holding said blade in place, the after edges of said tines being curved forwards and intersecting the forward edges thereof, said forward edges inclining upwards toward said" blade and said tines riding upon said curved after edges with the points of intersection oftheir" forward and after edges elevated above the ground when said tool is in operative position.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification.

JARGHIE M. GRAY.

Accordingly, the surface of the ground is not 7 a J scored or otherwise disturbed, one of the re sults-of which is to permit drawing the tool across the surface of the ground with the utmost ease.

The points 16 are elevated above the sur- 1 face of the ground to such a slight extent that I they are adapted to engage and lift runners such as those which characterize the growth of Bermuda grass. These runners extend along the surface-of the ground instead of rising vertically therefrom similarly to the blades of other types of grass. 'Hencethe points 16 are enabled to engage the runners and lift them'so that they slide upwards on the sharpened forward edges 18 of the tines 13. If the runners are not cut bythe edges 18 they will be carried upwards into engagement with the cutting edge 24 of the blade 23, which preferably is considerably sharper than the edges 14. One of the characteristics of the runners of Bermuda send out roots which fasten the runners securely to the ground at intervals. Hence portions of the runners are held down with sufficient force sothat those portions of the run ners which are elevated by the tines 13 will be severed either by the edges 14 or the cutting edge 24 of the blade 23. Inasmuch as Bermuda grass multiplies through the expedient of these runners, the tool of the present invention makes it possible to prevent the spread of Bermuda grass without harming other types of grass with which the Bermuda grass is mixed,- and if thetool is used fre quently so as to check the growth of runners,

It is to be understood that thedetails of the invention as herein disclosed, aresubject to alteration within the spirit or scope of the p ndedclaim, V is I claim:

In a garden tool, a handle, a head rigid therewith and comprising a transversely extending bar and aplurality of tines extending grass is that they the Bermuda grass may ultimatelybe killed downwards from said bar, said tines having 7 V I 

